1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein pertains to an electric steam flatiron with plural surge and spray functions with a handle-mounted manual spray pump and a separate handle-mounted mode selector valve subassembly combination with the improvement being made in the details of the mode valve subassembly permitting an inexpensive, easily assembled, set of components to select either steam or extra surge on demand by separate actuation of the handle mounted pump.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advent of irons using water for either steam or spray or both, a water tank is provided in the iron above the soleplate and water valve structure is provided for metered drippage of water into a steam generator where it is evaporated and flashed into steam and directed out ports in the soleplate to steam the article. In order to provide extra steam capacity, irons also have means whereby an extra slug of water may be pumped into the steam generating area, usually into a separate chamber, whereupon the extra surge of steam may be fed into the distribution system to exit the soleplate ports as extra capacity steam. Different types of surge steam have been provided whereby the surge steam and main steam are both fed directly into a main distribution system as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,357 and where the extra steam may be passed first through the main generator and then into the distribution system to exit as surge steam as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,972. Still another system as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,043 allows generated steam to be shifted from one group of soleplate ports to another group so it exits vigorously through a few ports or softly through many ports depending on the needs of the fiber being ironed. It is also known to provide an iron wherein a single control handles both spray water and surge steam through a combined structure wherein a single pump both pumps the water and selects the exit for spray or surge by including a valve mechanism directly in the pump and such structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,691,660. The present invention is directed to such an electric flatiron with plural surge and spray functions wherein a unique, easily assembled and inexpensive mode selector valve, separate from the pump structure, is supplied to direct water either to surge or spray in a simplified valve subassembly, the separateness from the pump being desired for reasons that will become apparent.